The high cost of flying to and from Memphis has been blamed in recent months as an economic drain.

"The leadership of the Airport Authority is not unmindful of this situation and has been for some time actively seeking to provide greater competition for our origin and destination traffic, which is the primary source for the high fares," said authority chairman Arnold Perl.

"At the same time, we have benefited greatly from having more air service per capita than most any community in the United States, including nonstop service to the principal destinations."

A hotel management company, Davidson Hotels & Resorts Inc., announced in October it was moving its headquarters and about 25 top executives to Atlanta, partially because of the Atlanta airport's superior connections.

The Folk Alliance International said it was moving its headquarters to Kansas City and scheduling annual conventions in cities with more affordable airfares.

Perl and other Memphis International Airport officials say the high fares are a function of limited competition.

Delta Air Lines operates the preponderance of flights, and has low origin and destination traffic -- people actually flying to or from Memphis. Instead, many Delta fliers are just making connections in Memphis.

Airport and Greater Memphis Chamber officials have pinned hopes for increased competition and lower fares on Southwest Airlines moving into Memphis with its soon-to-be-completed merger with AirTran. The carriers are expected to win government approval to merge operations early next year.

The BTS, an arm of the Department of Transportation, said average fares were up 9 percent in Memphis from a year earlier.

Nationwide, the bureau said average domestic airfares rose to $370 in the second quarter of 2011, up 8.5 percent from the average fare of $341 in the second quarter of 2010. Atlantic City, N.J., had the lowest fare, $205.